champion fabiana murer at millrose games
source: universalsports.com
NEW YORK -- As pole vaulting queen Yelena Isinbayeva stepped away from competition to recharge her batteries and American-record-holder Jenn Suhr competed sparingly as she recovered from injury, a new contender emerged last year in Brazil's Fabiana Murer. In 2010, the 29-year-old won the World Indoor Championship and the inaugural Diamond League title.
Murer got her 2011 season off to a strong start last weekend, winning the Millrose Games with a world-leading mark of 4.74m/15-6½. We caught up with her afterward to talk about her outlook for this year.
Can you talk about your season-opening competition at the Millrose Games and how you thought that went?
It was a very nice competition. I enjoyed competing in Madison Square Garden. The crowd was helping me jump. I felt a little bit tired because I am training really hard and didn't have a week to rest before the competition. But it was good for the first competition. I jumped a world lead and almost the competition record, so I'm pretty happy.
What are your plans for both the rest of this indoor season and the outdoor season?
I am going to Europe now and will do four competitions there, and of course I want to improve my mark and jump higher there. I think it is possible to jump more than 4.80m (15-9). The most important competition for me this year is the World Championships in Daegu. This indoor season is to kind of prepare me for the outdoor season. I have a lot of time to prepare for the World Championships.
Where is your confidence level right now coming off the successful seasons you had last year?
Yes, 2010 was really good for me. I think I got more experience but I feel like I need to improve more. My technique is okay but I have to improve more. That is the most important thing for me. Of course, I have more confidence to compete. Like here at Millrose with Jenn (Suhr), I was in second place and I knew I had to be ready to jump 4.74m (15-6½) if I was going to win the competition. Last year was important for this. I think I learned how to compete.
Later this indoor season, Yelena Isinbayeva is going to make her comeback. What do you think her return does to the landscape of women's pole vaulting and do you see yourself and a healthy Jenn Suhr better able to compete with her now?
I think it is very good that Yelena is coming back for the competitions. If she jumps high then I have to jump high and Jenn has to jump high if we want to win the competitions. This is important for the pole vault. I think she will come back well. I spoke to her last year and she said that she was training well, so we'll see what happens. I think it's important for all of the athletes to know that if she's in the competition you know you have to jump higher.
That said, how important was it for you to gain the confidence that you did last year knowing that you will have to compete at a higher level against Yelena?
For me, the most important thing I always say is to be prepared to jump high. I don't go into competitions thinking that I have to beat Yelena or I have to beat Jenn. I know how to compete and I learned how to compete stronger, but the most important thing to me is the final result
NEW YORK -- As pole vaulting queen Yelena Isinbayeva stepped away from competition to recharge her batteries and American-record-holder Jenn Suhr competed sparingly as she recovered from injury, a new contender emerged last year in Brazil's Fabiana Murer. In 2010, the 29-year-old won the World Indoor Championship and the inaugural Diamond League title.
Murer got her 2011 season off to a strong start last weekend, winning the Millrose Games with a world-leading mark of 4.74m/15-6½. We caught up with her afterward to talk about her outlook for this year.
Can you talk about your season-opening competition at the Millrose Games and how you thought that went?
It was a very nice competition. I enjoyed competing in Madison Square Garden. The crowd was helping me jump. I felt a little bit tired because I am training really hard and didn't have a week to rest before the competition. But it was good for the first competition. I jumped a world lead and almost the competition record, so I'm pretty happy.
What are your plans for both the rest of this indoor season and the outdoor season?
I am going to Europe now and will do four competitions there, and of course I want to improve my mark and jump higher there. I think it is possible to jump more than 4.80m (15-9). The most important competition for me this year is the World Championships in Daegu. This indoor season is to kind of prepare me for the outdoor season. I have a lot of time to prepare for the World Championships.
Where is your confidence level right now coming off the successful seasons you had last year?
Yes, 2010 was really good for me. I think I got more experience but I feel like I need to improve more. My technique is okay but I have to improve more. That is the most important thing for me. Of course, I have more confidence to compete. Like here at Millrose with Jenn (Suhr), I was in second place and I knew I had to be ready to jump 4.74m (15-6½) if I was going to win the competition. Last year was important for this. I think I learned how to compete.
Later this indoor season, Yelena Isinbayeva is going to make her comeback. What do you think her return does to the landscape of women's pole vaulting and do you see yourself and a healthy Jenn Suhr better able to compete with her now?
I think it is very good that Yelena is coming back for the competitions. If she jumps high then I have to jump high and Jenn has to jump high if we want to win the competitions. This is important for the pole vault. I think she will come back well. I spoke to her last year and she said that she was training well, so we'll see what happens. I think it's important for all of the athletes to know that if she's in the competition you know you have to jump higher.
That said, how important was it for you to gain the confidence that you did last year knowing that you will have to compete at a higher level against Yelena?
For me, the most important thing I always say is to be prepared to jump high. I don't go into competitions thinking that I have to beat Yelena or I have to beat Jenn. I know how to compete and I learned how to compete stronger, but the most important thing to me is the final result
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